Henry Hall Program

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In August 1982, the Aquarium established the Henry Hall Endowment Fund to provide free educational opportunities for students who attend or are graduates of the Baltimore City Public School System. Since then, awards totaling more than $900,000 have been provided to Baltimore City Public School middle school, high school, and college students through the Henry Hall Program.

The program provides exciting excursions and educational and career opportunities for students interested in marine and environmental science. It also offers paid internships for college students and provides one-year $1,000 scholarships for studies in biology, engineering, environmental science, and aquatic science.

How to Apply

Henry Hall: A Legacy of Learning

Henry Hall (1896–1979) was an engineer, world traveler, teacher, aquarist, inventor, and philanthropist. An African-American, he served as a mentor to Baltimore's black engineers when there were few opportunities for them in the profession. His community involvement and belief in learning helped shape the Aquarium

Mr. Hall traveled around the world, observing and collecting aquatic animals. He devoted his entire Mosher Street basement to the care of rare freshwater tropical fish, an alligator, an electric eel, and a shark. In 1977, he donated his entire collection to the future National Aquarium, Baltimore, which opened in 1981.

Today, the Aquarium carries on the dreams of the late Mr. Hall through the program that bears his name. In 2002, a wax figure was made and dedicated in his honor, made possible by a partnership between the Aquarium and the Great Blacks in Wax Museum.